SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
justify
verb
To provide sufficient reasons or evidence for an action, claim, or belief.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Provide adequate grounds
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topRationalize may invent a plausible excuse; justify requires reasons that actually support the action or claim.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See justify in use
The records did not justify the accusation made in the first report.
When the club newsletter printed an unfinished photograph, editor Priya gave a frank account of the mistake instead of hiding behind vague references to the process. She could affirm that she had approved the layout, because her message appeared in the shared record. She could not justify skipping the photographer's final check merely by saying that the deadline had been inconvenient.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license